Faustine Steinmetz

27/05/16

Faustine Steinmetz

Faustine Steinmetz

A Cheap Monday fanatic growing up, you are now part of the brand’s history. What does your eponymous label share with the Stockholm, Sweden-based giant?

We both obviously share a big love of Denim and I had worn it a lot when I was younger but I think it was when we met the team we found just how much we had in common. Carl and the whole Cheap Monday team really understood what we were about and were excited to work around the core of my label as well as their own which I thought was really great.

You attended two of the most prestigious fashion schools in the world. How was your experience at the Atelier Chardon Savard and Central Saint Martins?

I have really good memories from both schools, in very different ways I really think they both had a huge influence over the designer I became.

A recent survey made by Business of Fashion suggests that fashion education « might be selling a false dream », as fashion schools fail at supporting their talents, post-graduation. Did you experience this lack as well?

I guess I can't really comment on that as I went the route of starting my own label and there wasn't a lot that they could have done for me post-graduation. However both schools which I attended did a great job to prepare me for what laid ahead, as much as I could have expected as I always wanted to start my own label.

Do you think fashion students’ expectations are too high? Could they be blinded by the stardom of a few designers? Were you?

Perhaps a little, but I think the underlying problem is that there are too many people studying the exact same thing which leads to so much competition and there just isn't enough chance to specialize. I think there could be a better job done of allowing people to study very specific jobs within the fashion industry for when they leave school like pattern cutter, production manager, etc.

"As long as people continue to value this I think there is certainly room for handcrafted pieces, it's always been my way of shopping to save for something I really wanted rather than buying 20 items which I might only wear once."[Faustine Steinmetz]

Your website and Facebook page don’t say much about you. Surprising in this social media-driven era, where the most-followed rules. As low-key as you are, you still drew the attention of fashion’s gatekeepers: a presentation sponsorship by the BFC —thanks to the Council’s NEWGEN— for the London SS2016 Fashion Week, you were a finalist at the 2015 LVMH Prize, and earned a nomination as Emerging Womenswear Designer at the 2015 British Fashion Awards. Did you expect or hope for any of this?

2015 was quite a big year for us in that respect, between the LVMH Prize and the British Fashion Awards we started to get a lot of recognition for what we were doing so that was really great. When we applied for the LVMH Prize we had only hoped that we would make it to the semi-final so getting to the final was a total shock really, you always hope you will make it to the end but being realistic you never really expect it to actually happen for you.

« Craftmanship over trend » seems to be your motto. Can handicraft win over the fast fashion industry?

I guess we'll find out in a few years if I am still around!
I think it's slow, but people are really beginning to think more and more about where the clothes which they buy are coming from and the impact their decisions are having on people's lives. As long as people continue to value this I think there is certainly room for handcrafted pieces, it's always been my way of shopping to save for something I really wanted rather than buying 20 items which I might only wear once.

The brand Faustine Steinmetz was born in 2013 and is still on the rise. What’s next for you?

We're starting to look at how we can grow the collections and begin to attract a wider audience... We're also currently working on a new website which will see the launch of our first e-commerce site so that pretty exciting.

Faustine Steinmetz

Faustine Steinmetz

A Cheap Monday fanatic growing up, you are now part of the brand’s history. What does your eponymous label share with the Stockholm, Sweden-based giant?

We both obviously share a big love of Denim and I had worn it a lot when I was younger but I think it was when we met the team we found just how much we had in common. Carl and the whole Cheap Monday team really understood what we were about and were excited to work around the core of my label as well as their own which I thought was really great.

You attended two of the most prestigious fashion schools in the world. How was your experience at the Atelier Chardon Savard and Central Saint Martins?

I have really good memories from both schools, in very different ways I really think they both had a huge influence over the designer I became.

A recent survey made by Business of Fashion suggests that fashion education « might be selling a false dream », as fashion schools fail at supporting their talents, post-graduation. Did you experience this lack as well?

I guess I can't really comment on that as I went the route of starting my own label and there wasn't a lot that they could have done for me post-graduation. However both schools which I attended did a great job to prepare me for what laid ahead, as much as I could have expected as I always wanted to start my own label.

Do you think fashion students’ expectations are too high? Could they be blinded by the stardom of a few designers? Were you?

Perhaps a little, but I think the underlying problem is that there are too many people studying the exact same thing which leads to so much competition and there just isn't enough chance to specialize. I think there could be a better job done of allowing people to study very specific jobs within the fashion industry for when they leave school like pattern cutter, production manager, etc.

"As long as people continue to value this I think there is certainly room for handcrafted pieces, it's always been my way of shopping to save for something I really wanted rather than buying 20 items which I might only wear once."[Faustine Steinmetz]

Your website and Facebook page don’t say much about you. Surprising in this social media-driven era, where the most-followed rules. As low-key as you are, you still drew the attention of fashion’s gatekeepers: a presentation sponsorship by the BFC —thanks to the Council’s NEWGEN— for the London SS2016 Fashion Week, you were a finalist at the 2015 LVMH Prize, and earned a nomination as Emerging Womenswear Designer at the 2015 British Fashion Awards. Did you expect or hope for any of this?

2015 was quite a big year for us in that respect, between the LVMH Prize and the British Fashion Awards we started to get a lot of recognition for what we were doing so that was really great. When we applied for the LVMH Prize we had only hoped that we would make it to the semi-final so getting to the final was a total shock really, you always hope you will make it to the end but being realistic you never really expect it to actually happen for you.

« Craftmanship over trend » seems to be your motto. Can handicraft win over the fast fashion industry?

I guess we'll find out in a few years if I am still around!
I think it's slow, but people are really beginning to think more and more about where the clothes which they buy are coming from and the impact their decisions are having on people's lives. As long as people continue to value this I think there is certainly room for handcrafted pieces, it's always been my way of shopping to save for something I really wanted rather than buying 20 items which I might only wear once.

The brand Faustine Steinmetz was born in 2013 and is still on the rise. What’s next for you?

We're starting to look at how we can grow the collections and begin to attract a wider audience... We're also currently working on a new website which will see the launch of our first e-commerce site so that pretty exciting.